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Aviation History
1990
1990 - 2631.PDF
> Pilatus Britten-Norman, Bell Helicopter and Westland all call for less-frequent Farnbor ough and Paris shows. Australian manufacturers echo this, al though Japanese companies and American Aerospace Industries (AAI), a private com pany, seek no change. Lockheed, Gulfstream, Garrett and Cessna are among manufacturers telling Flight that they prefer the current arrangement. The SBAC, organiser of this month's Farnborough air show, accepts that the proliferation of events can generate such a too-many-air-shows reaction, "...but the manufacturers do not voice this opinion to us", says director Sir Barry Duxbury. He points out that display space at Farnbor ough has grown 18% on that sold two years ago. "We could have sold 107 additional chalets," he remarks. Paris air show organ iser GIFAS is providing an additional 10,000m2 of space in a new, sixth exhibi tion hall at Le Bourget next year. Duxbury claims that SBAC efficiency in planning Farnborough on a continuous "natural two-year cycle" would be reduced if the show reverted to a three-year or longer period. He introduces the spectre of higher costs in that event, although the costs would of course arise less frequently. The SBAC declines to "take a view" on the desirability of less frequent Farnborough air shows. "It is up to the exhibitors to judge where the returns lie," says the SBAC director. The two regional shows in Singapore and Dubai, with established biennial slots in the air-show calendar in January, have much stronger support for continuation without change. Boeing, Lockheed, Gulfstream, Cessna, Pilatus Britten-Norman, Bell, Piper and the Society of Japanese Aerospace Companies (SJAC) all say that this cycle should be sustained. The call for reduced frequency of the two regional shows is much weaker than that for change by the "Big Two", suggesting a trend toward greater support for truly regional events. Asian Aerospace, held in Singapore, is now set in the industry calendar. The younger Dubai Aerospace Exhibition drew praise from exhibitors at the last, 1989 event, dubbed "Singapore West" by one industry wag. Certainly, a quick Flight poll among participants at the end of that show- found many, including Boeing, Rolls-Royce and Aerospatiale, saying that they wished they had planned stronger participation, given the Cairo-to-Calcutta catchment area commanded by the event. Only P&VV'C discounts Dubai as an appropriate venue, acknowledging that it has few customers or operators in the region. COMPLIMENTARY The SBAC sees Singapore and Dubai as "highly complementary" to the Paris and Farnborough events. The UK trade asso ciation even claims some credit for the regional shows' success by pointing out that it is very involved in the organisation of the two smaller events' flying displays. Director Duxbury is less sure that a trend toward greater regional emphasis is yet established. Asked to rank these four shows plus the biennial Hannover show organised by the West German industry association for value, manufacturers and trade groups still put Paris and Farnborough at the top of the league. Singapore and Dubai are now rated more highly than Hannover among those taking part in the Flight International sur vey, however. The West German event might be perceived by cynical manufactur ers as a European general-aviation event enhanced only by the presence of major companies because of their involvement with international programmes in which West Germany is a major partner. Certainly, the presence of Airbus Industrie and Panavia, plus elements of the West German air force, add weight to the show, as does the occasional appearance of major non- European hardware — for example, the MDC Apache —when there is a NATO- related contract in the air. Paris receives most support as the No 1 international show in the Flight Interna tional survey, with Farnborough receiving muted support for that position. Only Pilatus Britten-Norman nominated Dubai for greatest value. Singapore is clearly be hind Farnborough in voles for the second- rank position in the show league, with MDC providing the only support for Han nover in this slot. MDC gives Paris and Farnborough equal highest-value billing. The Singapore and Dubai events have made major inroads into the air-show scene. In the lower echelons, Hannover receives less support than Dubai, the most recent entrant in the air-show stakes. Indeed, one major US airliner manufacturer ignores Hannover as a contender. Should the USA be the venue for a major aerospace show, given that several attempts have failed to maintain altitude, however good the marketing take-off run? This idea receives very little support from the world's international aerospace community. Among manufacturers, only General Elec tric says "Yes", but with the warning that such an event should be held only every two years. AAI, the private aerospace exhi- * Ft IGHT INTERNATIONAL 5-11 SEPTEMBER, 1990
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